Still waiting
by Neko Saruwatari
Summary: [Oneshot] Winry says that she always seems to be waiting, and it's taking a hard toll on her even though she tries to hide it.[EdxWinry]


A/N: Hello. Thought I'd give another try at writing an Ed/Winry fic. It takes place after chapter 48 of the manga because I loved that chapter so much! Anyways, stop reading my rantings and read away! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. Doody, doody, dooo.

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The train shifted slightly as Edward stared out the now fogging window, his left hand grasping his now limp and motionless right arm. The rain tapped rather harshly against the windows and the top of the train. Ed's brother, Alphonse, sat quietly across from him, sometimes side glancing his older brother. Al looked over to the others joining them on the trip. Ling sat beside Ran-fan, looking worriedly over at her from time to time. Since Ran-fan had to sacrifice her arm to get away from their pursuer, Ling had been worried for her. She said she wanted automail, so that's what they were going to get. That and Ed's automail arm had been broken and nearly ripped off by the blood thirsty Gluttony. Luckily, they got Ran-fan out of the small shack they resided in before Gluttony had ripped out of his confines and rampaged the surprised onlookers there. They had managed to destroy Gluttony after what seemed like endless hours of fighting and find another place to take shelter in. Chaos had stuck again, and this time, they had found themselves once again fortunate to see another day. 

"B-Brother? Are you alright?" Al asked timidly. Ed's dazed eyes slowly came back into focus to look at his brother.

"Yeah, just thinking, that's all," Ed said turning his eyes back to the window to gaze out once again. Al looked down at his hands in his lap with a small nod. Ling's voice soon disturbed the silence.

"Hey! How long is it to Rush Valley anyway?" He asked impatiently. Ran-fan's blank eyes looked up to Ed and Al. A questioning stare almost asking what her master had just said. Ed took out his pocket watch and flicked it open.

"Another half an hour and we should be there," Ed confirmed, closing the watch and stuffing it back into his pocket. The four once again lapsed into silence as the ride made its bumpy way to Rush Valley.

--

Winry once again wiped the sweat off her brow as she fixed another customers automail.

"Thank you for coming back Big sis! It's much better when your fixing my automail!" the little boy said happily. Winry smiled at him and nodded taking out a screwdriver and making the last adjustments.

"There you go Tetsu, all done," Winry said wiping her brow again with a sigh. Tetsu jumped up and flexed his automail leg.

"Ah, thanks Big sis! It feels great! Much better than Mr.Garfiel!" He said, smiling ear to ear.

"Tetsu, don't say that! Mr.Garfiel is just as good of a mechanic as I am!" Winry scolded lightly. Tetsu tried to look innocent, but a snicker escaping him gave him away.

"Ugh…Well, make sure to check your automail everyday and take good care of it, ok?" Winry asked after she had slapped her hand to her forehead in exasperation.

"Sure! See ya Big sis!" Tetsu smiled running outside to meet up with his mother. Winry smiled as she watched him leave.

"Well, have to finish Mr.O'Connor's arm before he comes back to pick it up," Winry said to herself as she seated herself at her work desk. Winry took out her trusty wrench and began to work on the joints.

"Oh Winry! You've got guests!" Mr.Garfiel's voice called from the other room. Winry started to panic.

'Oh no! Not now! What if it's Mr. O'Connor? I just started to work on his automail!' Winry stressed thinking only of the worst case scenario.

"Well Winry? Hurry up! They're waiting!" Mr.Garfiel once again shouted, but in a slightly more stern voice. Winry uneasily made her way down the hall and to other room just to gasp and let her hand fly to cover her mouth. The sight of the one armed Ran-fan with a hollow look had reminded her of memories she would have rather kept locked away. The one memory that would haunt her for the rest of her life. When Ed had come back bloodied and battered in the arms of a suit of armour that claimed to be Al, begging for her and Granny to help Edward, so many years ago.

"Winry? Miss Winry? I--We need your help," Ling had said steadying Ran-fan's arm that was looped around his shoulders in an attempt to help her move. Ran-fan nodded feebly.

"A-auto…mail," came a raspy reply from Ran-fan. Winry snapped out of her surprise at the small whisper from Ran-fan and looked at the two.

"So? Do you think you can give Ran-fan automail?" Ling asked. Winry nodded.

"I help you, don't worry. That's what I'm here for anyway, to help with automail procedures and such," Winry said smiling lightly at the two. Realizing Ran-fan had probably gone through a lot and had a strong soul to want automail.

"Ahem. It's about time you noticed the other people in the room," Ed cleared his throat with a glare in Winry's direction. Winry's now flat gaze drifted towards Ed, to notice something wrong. Something VERY wrong.

"Y-YOU BROKE YOUR AUTOMAIL!" Winry said in horror that soon turned to anger.

"Uh…Winry! I didn't do it on purpose! There was a fight that…" Ed trailed off knowing Winry would probably be reminded of recent events. Winry paused in the move for her wrench, but pulled it out a second later and whipped it at Ed's head.

"Your so wreckless Ed! Always getting into fights! And breaking my one of a kind automail while your at it too!" Winry huffed, turning to Ling and Ran-fan. "Now Ran-fan, you need to get some rest before you go through automail surgery. It's a very lengthy procedure and painful, so I'll ask this, are you sure you want automail?"

"I….need it….to…protect master," Ran-fan said in her same raspy voice before she broke out into a coughing fit. Ling's hands immediately went to her shoulders to steady her.

"Well, that confirms it, you need to get some rest right now. I know you'll get through it, but you need more energy for the surgery. I'll show you to one of the spare bedrooms upstairs," Winry said in a worried tone, starting to walk over to Ling to help when Mr.Garfiel stopped her.

"Don't worry about this Winry, I'll help them. You've been working all day anyway, you deserve a break," Mr.Garfiel said in his usual cheery tone of voice, helping Ling and Ran-fan to the stairs.

"Besides," Winry heard from the stairway, "Don't you want to catch up with your friends?"

Winry was suddenly brought back to Ed and Al. She turned to see them waiting patiently, well for Al waiting patiently. Ed was fuming over the bump on his head and yelling various curses at her.

"So you guys, did you come to escort them or get Ed's automail fixed?" Winry asked with a flat tone.

"Well to get my automail fixed of course! I can't even move it! And like I'd 'escort' Mr. Ugly face there," Ed said angrily crossing his arms.

"Well, it was sort of both brother," Al said matter of factly only to hear a mumbled 'whatever'.

"Ok then," Winry said turning and walking towards a room down the hall.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Ed hollered.

"Taking a break, make yourselves comfortable and tell me when you want your automail fixed Ed," Winry said not turning back to them and opening the door she came to.

"Well, why right not right now! We can't just sit around!" Ed said marching up to Winry and grabbing her arm to prevent her from going any farther. Winry looked at Ed's hand on her forearm with an unreadable expression.

"I guess I can, right now. But…" Winry trailed off looking away from the two. Ed slowly let go of her arm as she tugged away and walked into the room.

"Well, come on Ed. You want your automail fixed, right?" Came Winry's voice which made Ed walk forward, but stop to give Al a questioning look.

"It's alright Brother, I can wait, I'll just go check on Ling and Ran-fan," Al said feeling that the two needed to be alone right now. Ed nodded and watched as Al made his way up the stairs and eventually out of sight.

Ed looked inside to see that the room was quite bare, except for the work table with various tools lining it, a table with all sorts of scrap metal, tools, and other things on it, and a chair that had small table props to hold someone's leg or arm. Winry guided Ed to the chair and asked him to sit down. He did so and took off his coat, vest and shirt, knowing she needed better access to repair his right arm. He didn't see the tell tale blush that seeped onto her cheeks though, which she was thankful for. Winry grabbed a wrench and a tool box and set to working on the wiring and other flaws that had showed up when she was gone. She worked in silence, not her or Ed deciding to break it for most of the time. Winry's hands stilled as she looked over the knicks in the metal and the damage.

"Ed, you really broke it badly…W-what happened?" Winry asked meekly, letting her bangs hide her eyes.

"Winry…" Ed said looking up at her.

"Ed, why can't you ever tell me what's been happening to you when you come back with new scars and your automail in tatters? Were you almost killed?" Winry asked turning her head away from him, knowing that hot tears were welling in her eyes. He didn't answer.

"I just wish I knew what was going on…I'm always waiting here wondering if your dead or not. Why…? Why am I always waiting? It's hard and…and scary but I…" Winry trailed off, her hands visibly shaking. Ed stared worriedly up at her, wishing he could do something.

"I'm sorry Ed…Can I fix the rest of your automail later? I-I have to go and…" Winry trailed off again, walking hurriedly towards the closed door, knowing she was most likely to cry in front of him if she stayed any longer. Her hand had just reached the smooth surface of the door knob when she felt a hand pull her back. Her tears ran down her face as she turned to Ed.

"Great, now I'm making you cry again. So much for my promise," Ed said regrettably looking into her tear filled sapphire eyes. Winry tried to turn away or run, struggling against his grip, but failed, the grip to tight for her to escape. Her eyes widened when she felt herself pulled into an embrace. Ed holding her tightly, but not tight enough to hurt her. She felt herself blush, her tears momentarily stopped by shock.

"Winry…I don't tell you because I'm afraid that if you get too involved with me…that you might die as well. Everyone that gets involved with me dies…Hughes, Nina…And I can't seem to prevent it. I-if that happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Ed said sternly, voice nearly cracking. Winry's eyes widened.

"And even though your waiting, I'll always come back. People need you Winry. Al and I…we need you too. Your not alone, people are waiting for you too. Just wait, one day Al and I will come back for good," Ed whispered into her ear making her shiver slightly.

"How can I trust you when you've broken so many promises though? What if you don't come back?" Winry said quietly, sniffing every now and then.

"No matter what, I'll keep this promise. I will come back, I will! …Just don't give up hope on me," Ed said loosening his hug to look into her eyes. His topaz eyes full of determination, courage, and something else, but…She couldn't put a finger on what it was. She saw that a blush had formed on his cheeks as well. Winry pulled away, feeling like she was going to burst from embarrassment.

"You had better keep that promise Edward Elric! Or else! …I just don't want to loose anyone else," Winry said looking anywhere but his face and wiping the last of her tears away. A vibrant blush staining her face.

"Quit worrying Winry! I'll keep it. You have got to quit stressing over me and go back to being that machine freak I know so well," Ed said teasingly. Winry's face dropped.

"You stupid alchemy geek! You really know how to ruin the moment, don't you? Argh! Why do I even put up with you?" Winry yelled at him knowing the answer to her own question. Ed smirked.

"Ah, come on. Just joking around. Now, I think you have the rest of my automail to fix!" Ed said plopping himself back into the chair. Winry glared at him.

"Who said I was going to right off the bat? Maybe if you had at least been a little more polite…I would have considered," Winry said annoyed at how quick he changed the conversation.

"Fine then! Will you _please_ fix the rest of my automail? There!" Ed huffed, the tinge of red returning to his cheeks.

"That's better," Winry said walking over to where he sat and looking at his arm to see where she left off. She smiled lightly, a small blush still remaining on her cheeks as she worked. Oh, she would make him keep his promise, one way or another. And maybe even one day she would tell him that she loved him. Only time would tell.

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A/N: Well, there we go. Fini! Hope everyone liked it! ...and yes, I know I made a few mistakes on the manga/anime thing!coughseeifyoucanfinditcough.Please forgive me! yeah...well, please review! It makes me very happy when you do! See ya later! 


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